Low T Issues, High SHBG Trying to Figure It All Out

Pharma TRT
41

@anon10035199 @systemlord

Hey guys, I have bloods this weekend for a month update. Has anyone had iodine deficiency checked through bloods?

I have been monitoring temps. Average is 96.8 at 530am and 97.8 in the afternoon. I figure my iodine is low but wanted the blood test to check for sure.

I found an article on hormone levels of drinkers… and the article confused me. They had the mean number for non drinkers at 34.7 nmol/l which came out to about 1000 ng/dl and then they said the average testosterone of drinkers was 28 nmol/l and then increased as they recovered. However SHBG was around 90. My question is, isn’t 1000ng/dl very high? This was for men with an average age of 33-39.

I have seen before the average testosterone for men my age is 600 ng/dl so I was shocked to see it at 1000 ng/dl.

42

Hey guys,

Just got the call from the endocrinologist. I will get a copy of the bloods but here is what I have so far.

Test total dropped to 372 from 478
But my SHBG also dropped to 61 from 70. So I guess that is why.
Free t is the same at 48.

My LH dropped from 3.8 to 2.7
FSH dropped from 9.5 to 7.5

Estradiol dropped to 16.8 extra sensitive test.

Prolactin is up tp 20.5 and that is 5 points above range.

Doc said he was happy with the results, thought things are going in the right direction. Idk how that is the case. I guess I am screwed at this point. He said something about getting an MRI for a tumor. So there is that.

What do you guys think?

43

I think it’s time for a new doctor, this one is clueless. How can anyone be happy with those results?

44

Thanks for the response @systemlord do you or does anyone know if Proton Pump Inhibitors cause issues with the HPTA axis? I was on a strong ppi for over 4 years daily from 2011 to 2015 and when my doc ran my T in 2015 it was already low normal.

One more question, is it strange that my FSH is normal and my LH is low? Don’t they usually trend together?

45

Full New Bloods:
Blood work as of February 10th:

Glucose 99 (65-99)
BUN 12 (6-20)
Creatinine 1.00 (.76-1.27)
EGFR 98 (>59)
Bun Creatinine Ratio 12 (9-20)
Sodium 140 (134-144)
Potassium 4.7 (3.5-5.2)
Chloride 100 (96-106)
Carbon Dioxide 25 (18-29)
Calcium 9.6 (8.7-10.2)
Protein, Total 6.9 (6.0-8.5)
Albumin 4.5 (3.5-5.5)
Globulin 2.4 (1.5-4.5)
A/G Ratio 1.9 (1.2-2.2)
Bilirubin 0.5 (0.0-1.2)
ALP 87 (39-117)
AST 21 (0-40)
ALT 25 (0-44)
GGT 11 (0-65)

Testosterone, Serum 372 (264-916) Was 519 in November, SHBG has dropped and so has the Total Testosterone.
Free % 1.3 (1.5-3.2)
Free Testosterone, Serum 48 (52-280)
DHT 38 (30-85)
SHBG 61.9 (16.5-55.9)

T4 1.21 (.82-1.77)
T3 2.9 (2.0-4.4)
TSH 2.170 (0.450-4.500)
DHEA-S 333 (138.5-475.2)

Cortisol AM 21.5 (6.2-19.4)
ACTH 8.8 (7.2-63.3)

LH 2.3 (1.7-8.6)
FSH 7.6 (1.5-12.4)
Prolactin 20.5 (4.0-15.2)
Estradiol, Sensitive 18.7 (8.0-35)
Estrogens, Total 41 (40-115) Was 158 in November before Sam-E supplementation

Vitamin D 46.8 (30-100
Iodine 36.8 (40-92)
B12 607 (232-1245)
Magnesium 2.0 (1.6-2.3)
Zinc 86 (56-134)
Iron 96 (38-169
Ferritin 103 (30-400)

Doc said that he thinks my T will recover once my SHBG has dropped to normal levels. I am not so sure, either way I am in the wait and see stage according to him.

E2 is still normal levels, was elevated a few months ago but I used SAM-E to drop it, but if I take sam-e to drop my gyno, which I have done, it crushes my E and I feel even worse.

Any ideas why Prolactin would be increasing - other than a tumor? Also, it is worth it to get Pregnenelone or progesterone tested?

46

SHBG is made in the liver and is affected by thyroid hormones, testosterone binds to SHBG. SHBG does balance your sex hormones but doesn’t increase testosterone production. When SHBG goes down TT follows do to increasing free T.

47

Thanks systemlord.

If I am prone to getting gynecomastia before TRT would TRT make it worse? I am afraid that it will exacerbate the problem…

48

There’s no way I could know that, but I do know that men spending decades low T will cause serious health problems down the road. I’d be more worried about cardiovascular events if I were you and heart diseases, dementia and alzheimer’s.

You can deal with the boobs, but not these horrible medical conditions. You must balance the pros and cons. I can’t sugar coat it for you, a healthy life or a life of suffering with any one of these diseases.

When my testosterone levels drop I become a diabetic instantly, 4.5 months ago my blood sugar and A1C were continuing to improve and began a new protocol injecting more frequently and saw a dramatic increase in A1C and blood sugar skyrocketed. My diabetes returned with a vengeance.

Now I’m seeing a reversal back on my old protocol. When you’re T is low there are processes in your body that are broken and nasty stuff can and will happen.

49

Hey Guys,

I just wanted to add a line about where I am, and my recent tests have been.

I have addressed the issue of having elevated Estrogen, and took SAM-E to lower it.

It took a few months, and I needed to sort of work out some stress in my life but it seems that my blood tests have been better.

My testosterone total has been over 500 on my last two tests and my SHBG has dropped from 69.9 to 48 as of my last test.

My LH has doubled as well, being 7.7 and 5.8 on my last two tests, as opposed to 3.1 and 2.7 on my previous tests in January and February.

My free T has also doubled since, it is not insanely high by any means but it was around 4.8 in January and has been at 8.4 and 9.4 on my last two tests. I don’t feel like the man I was when I was 21 but I do feel a heck of a lot better and I have been getting nocturnal wood almost every night.

I think the elevated Estrogen was my main issue and I will be continuing to monitor it and keeping on top of it to make sure it does not elevate again. Currently it is sitting at 19 which is right in the middle of the normal range.

Hopefully this helps someone. I will be back periodically to check in and post updates when possible.

1 Like
50

Hey man. Good to hear that you’ve taken control of your health. I commend your effort and admire your resolve even when things looked bleak.

I’m 18 years old and going through the same things you’ve gone through. I’ve had digestive issues for a long time. Bloating, floating yellow stools and feeling like I’m not digesting food.

In the last two years my symptoms have gotten worse. My muscles feels really weak. To the extent that my legs feel heavy and I have trouble walking. I have brain fog and chronic fatigue. And joint pain. My hand and feet get extremely cold.

I work out and eat healthy but I’m still skinny fat. I also have small. Lumps underneath my nipples which I think is gyno.

I have went to 3 endos, a neurologist an orthopedic surgeon and gp. All of them said I was fine but considering I like in Pakistan and the symptoms are getting worse I’m skeptical since they didn’t even do many tests beside blood analysis and tsh.

I got a lot tests done by myself which I’ll post here. The main issue is SHBG it’s 77 nmol. TT is 1146ng and estradiol is 35pg/ml. I need to know how to lower it without taking trt. I’m young and don’t want to go that route.

My Tests:
Male hormones (31/05/18)
Total Testosterone : 1146ng/dl
SHBG : 77nmol
Estradiol : 35pg/ml

Thyroid Tests;

TSH:
(08/01/18) 2.46ul/ml
(10/03/18) 1.10ul/ml

Free T-3 : 3.0 pg/ml (1.7 - 3.7)
Free T-4 1.0 ng/dL (0.7 - 1.5)
Anti-Tg 1.4 IU/mL (< 4.1)
Anti-TPO 0.1 IU/ml (< 5.6)
T4 8.7 µg/dL (4.9 - 11.7)

Vitamin D(25 oh) : 10.9ng
Ferritin: 38ng/ml
Transferrin Saturation: 26%
Vitamin b12: 2000 (because I took a few shots)

Chemistry:
08/01/18
SGPT (ALT) 25 IU/L 5 - 50
Glucose (Fasting): 95 mg/dL 70 - 110 Adults

Liver Function Tests: (24/05/2018)
Total bilrubin: 0.69 (0.2-1.1)
Alt : 44 (9-40)
AST: 27 (9-40)
Alkaline Phosphatase: 83 (30-115)
Gama GT: 14 (<55)

Hematology
Blood Complete Picture
WBC Count 4,540 /mm3 (4,000 - 10,000)
RBC Count 5.50 mil/mm3 (4.5 - 6.0)
Hemoglobin 15.6 g/dL (14 - 18)
Hematocrit 47 % (40 - 50)
MCV 86 fL (82 - 98)
MCH 28 pg (27 - 31)
MCHC 33 g/dL (32 - 36)
RDW-CV 13 % (11 - 16)
Platelets 179,000 /mm3 (140,000 - 450,000)
Differential Count
Neutrophils 47 % 40 - 75
Lymphocytes 44 % 15 - 45
Monocytes 8 % 2 - 12
Eosinophils 1 % 2 - 6
Basophils 0 % 0 - 1
Bands 0 % 0-3

I’ve been supplementing for vitamin d by Taking 200000iu ampules one every two weeks and taking k2 daily. Please op tell me how can I lower shbg?

P. S: I feel better when I take a b complex shot. I also took proviron for a week and felt a little better but stopped because I heard it suppresses natural T.

51

SHBG is binding up free T.
Vitamin D is low, low free T could be indirectly responsible.
You need large doses of test, you need TRT unless you can find out what’s raising SHBG.
Some just have genetically high SHBG.
You may be iodine deficient.

I would make your own thread so we can help you. I’ll comment further there.

52

Did you use oral or intravenous sam-e?

53

Oral Sam-E. I only took one pill per day for 3 weeks and my estrogen levels plummeted. This may work for you, but it may not. Depending on whether you are having methylation issues or not. I was, and once I started taking them it really helped to drive the numbers down.

But it doesn’t look like your numbers are all that bad.

If your Total Test is 1148 ng/dl and your shbg is 77 your free testosterone is almost 16 ng/dl which isn’t too bad. Considering mine was 4.8 ng/dl when I was really feeling crappy.

I think you may have some issues with your gallbladder or maybe your bile ducts or something considering you are having those digestive problems. You liver enzymes don’t look too bad though.

I really don’t think our situations are exactly the same since most of my issues were probably due to alc usage which drove my shbg up, my guess is at 18 that is not your issue. We’re talking over 10 years of usage every weekend for me and a period of two years of almost daily.

Best of luck.